1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to embedded circuitry, and more particularly, to circuit boards embedded inside an access-control technology device of a door to provide electrification thereto.
2. Description of Related Art
There are currently various types of access-control technology devices available for use with, on or inside a door. For instance, it is known to use access-control technology in locking devices. In recent years, access-control technology in locking devices has increasingly shifted from traditional keying systems and mechanical articulation to digital monitoring and electronic actuation. Various electronically actuated locks and exit devices for doors exist in the art. These electronically actuated locks are generally classified into two categories, namely, those having electronic circuitry housed inside a mortised recess of a door, and those having electronic circuitry housed in an escutcheon-type lock assembly.
In mortised recess assemblies, electronic circuitry is housed in a mortised recess of a door whereby this mortised recess is separate from a mortise housing the locking device of the door. In escutcheon-type assemblies, the electronic circuitry is housed in a casing that resides on the exterior of the door, and as such, is also separate from the lock device itself.
In both of these types of assemblies, since the electronic circuitry is external to the lock itself, intricate wiring is required to provide the necessary electrical connection between the external circuitry and the lock device. This entails routing wiring from the external electronic circuitry, into the lock, and discretely throughout the lock in a pattern that avoids the mechanical working components of the lock. The routed wiring inside the lock is connected to switches and actuators residing therein for providing an electronically actuated and monitored lock.
Whether the electronic circuitry resides in a mortised recess or an escutcheon, it has been found that there are many disadvantages to these conventional electronically actuated lock assemblies.
With the constrained real estate in a majority of currently available locks, it has become difficult and burdensome to provide the necessary wiring into and throughout the lock for the electrical connection between the switches and actuators in the lock and the electronic circuitry external to the lock. Concerns are also raised when too much electrical wiring resides external to the locking device. Insulated wire harnesses routed through a lockbody are subject to damage from contact with mechanical components.
It is also undesirably burdensome, time consuming, expensive and expends valuable real estate within the lock by requiring the lock casing to be fabricated with a number of holes and slots for accommodating the inserted wiring, as well as to be fabricated with brackets or harnesses inside the lock for securing and positioning the wiring accommodated therein. As such, these conventional mortised recess and escutcheon-type lock assemblies suffer from fabrication difficulties as well as performance limitations in providing accurate wire routing to switches, actuators, and wire harnesses within existing mechanical lock mechanisms having constrained real estate.
Additional drawbacks of housing electronics in an escutcheon is that these types of assemblies reside on and project outward from the exterior of the door, often precluding the addition of auxiliary hardware on such door. Escutcheon-type assemblies are also less vandal resistant by virtue of its visibility and accessibility on the surface of the door. Further drawbacks of the mortised recessed housed electronics include the increased difficulty for door manufacturers and installers to provide the precise sizing and shape of the mortised recess that fits the housing in which the electronics reside.
Accordingly, a need exists in the art for improved methods and apparatus for access-control technology devices available for use with, on or inside a door. One of these needs is for improved methods and apparatus for access-control technology in locking devices that allows digital monitoring and electronic actuation to be implemented in current locking devices that have constrained real estate. This constrained real estate may be due to more compact designs, or even those existing mechanical lock mechanisms having increased and/or improved technological advances residing inside the lock that consume an increased and/or substantial portion of the valuable real estate therein.